From the Desk of…
RFK Jr. denies eating a dog while sidestepping sexual assault allegations in Vanity Fair article. You know, I remember when getting too worked up at a rally was enough to get you shamed out of running for president. Isn’t it funny, the things the media at large will choose to focus on and choose to ignore? Anecdotally, people will tell you that opinions on the first Nixon/Kennedy debate heavily depended on if they listened to it on the wireless or if they watched it on the telly. I’ve grown skeptical of that exact claim, but who can deny that the medium is the message? What you print is nothing compared to the effect of the printed word. The printed word sets up a paradigm, a structure of awareness which affects everybody in very, very drastic ways, and it doesn’t very much matter what you print as long as you go on in that form of activity. There isn’t time to tell jokes in America.
Anyway.
Jeni’s ice cream is having a listeria recall. Again. It’s just an assumed risk at this point, I guess. Of course, now that we have the Chevron decision out of the Roberts court, we should expect more and more ‘oh whoopsie’-type recalls. Now that judges can decide what is or isn’t safe for folks instead of deferring to the experts, we’re one step closer to Sinclair’s Jungle once again. Thankfully, it’s illegal to bribe a judge, and—oh, wait, this just in. Bribery is now legal in the United States. That seems like a bad combination. Ah, well. At least they’re going to keep the regulatory experts in place. It’s not like anyone’s trying to take us back to the spoils system.
You know, it’s just funny to me that it feels like the Republican Party, under the guidance of its smaller sects—those groups you read as article footnotes like The John Birch Society or The Federalist Society or The Heritage Foundation or the Moral Majority (itself a hodgepodge of subsects)—has been pushing and driving towards what is now being billed as Project 2025 since the Goldwater days. In the meantime, over the short arc of sixty years, I struggle to see the overarching picture and plan for the Democratic Party. That same year, LBJ was laying out the vision of the Great Society, but if a Democratic candidate today said “for so long as man has lived on this earth, poverty has been his curse. On every continent in every age men have sought escape from poverty’s oppression. Today, for the first time in all the history of the human race, a great nation is able to make and is willing to make a commitment to eradicate poverty among its people,” they’d get shredded by the media and hounded off the stage for being a pinko commie. Then again, if a Democratic candidate said that today, they’d probably not get near as much attention from folks as they would for saying “leave me an inch from where the zipper (burps) ends, round, under my, back to my bunghole” on TikTok. It sure does feel sometimes like the forces of capital are pretty well organized and have flattened political discourse in ways that have alienated the people from any sense of power and control over their lives. Like the old saying goes, “one reason people insist that you use the proper channels to change things is because they have control of the proper channels and they’re confident it won’t work.” Thankfully, now that the Supreme Court has said that official executive actions are exempt from prosecution, the Democratic Party is taking this newfound immunity and license to, let me check my notes here, “respect the limits of presidential power.” Hm. Well, like the old saying goes, “the last decade has been the Democrats clinging onto the rulebook going ‘but a dog can't play basketball!’ while a dog … dunks on us over and over.”
Oh well. Maybe someday things will be better. And congrats to Liz on the hung jury.
The Brain Dump
they should nationalize taco bell. their food scientists should get public research grants
well i just got fired from the debate prep team, so thanks everyone
solemnly removing my hot dog-related trucker hat and replacing it with a hot dog-related baseball cap
i'm OFFICIALLY speeding down the bike lane on summit!! there's no laws now!!! just hit 74mph and officially flipped off a cargo bike!!!!
In this Ohio diner, it was a tradition: big plate of pancakes, hot mug of Folgers, then logging on to post about Joe Biden resigning. But now the woke mob wants to take all of that away.
At the Movies
Planning some cinematic excursions this weekend, but we’ll see if I don’t get held up by something (Elden Ring DLC). Had a bit of a dry patch due to being busy… doing… something? Oh, and Summer Games Done Quick is on. Here’s one tribute and a couple from the vaults.
Clue (1985), dir. Jonathan Lynn ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ❤️
Between this, Arrested Development, Fernwood 2 Night, and Roseanne, Martin Mull probably had a more substantive positive impact on my life than, like, most of my relatives? Absolute legend.
The History of White People in America (1985), dir. Harry Shearer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ❤️
Really rides the line between "very funny" and "oh no, I've unironically heard someone say that"
Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart (1985), dir. Wayne Wang ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ❤️
incredible uncle work out of Victor Wong in this
One Picture
Now, go forth and have a good holiday! Everything sucks, so take it easy.
In closing,
Some friends have an ill cat. If you should be in a position to help an ill cat, I’d appreciate it on their behalf. They’d probably appreciate it too, but I have less control over that.
Until next time, try to log off once in a while. It’s good for you. Read a book or something. Look at a tree or loved one. No one can stand a constant deluge of reality.
Reality sucks; your thoughts on it are appreciated all the same. Happy day off, friend.